Police warn about the dangers of driving impaired during busy holiday season

It's been 17 years since Emily Stewart and her father were struck head on by an impaired driver near Shakespeare, Ont. 

Stewart, then 11 years old, was badly injured. She was airlifted to McMaster Children's Hospital in Hamilton, where she was put into an induced coma to treat a major brain injury that would take years to recover from. 

Her father, Doug, was killed on impact.

"There's not a single day that goes by that I'm not missing my dad," she told CBC Toronto.

"He was very kind, caring and selfless, [and] he'll never be back due to someone's reckless decision to get behind the wheel while impaired."

At the height of the holiday season, police all over the Greater Toronto Area are once again warning people about the dangers of impaired driving.

So far in 2024, 370 fatalities have been reported on Ontario roadways, with 47 of those attributed to crashes involving drugs or alcohol, said Sgt. Kerry Schmidt with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

"If you're going to head out to a party, an event, you know, a family gathering or wherever it is, plan ahead," Schmidt said. "Have a plan that's going to put you into a position where you know how you're getting home."

Police services all over the province launched their annual holiday RIDE campaigns on Nov. 21. RIDE stands for reduce impaired driving everywhere.

Hundreds of charges laid since campaign launch

In the first three weeks of the campaign, 767 impaired driving charges were laid, Schmidt said. Last year, more than 1,400 charges were laid during the entire campaign, which runs until Jan. 1, 2025.

Meanwhile, Toronto police data shows 1,502 reports of impaired driving have been made so far in 2024 and Durham Regional Police report 764 impaired driving incidents during the same period.

"Treat yourself to a nice way home and have someone else take you home. Transit, Uber, rideshare, taxi … there's lots of opportunities. Don't get into a vehicle if you're impaired," Schmidt said. 

WATCH | Ontario minister speaks about drunk driving consequences: 

'Consequences will be real,' Ontario minister says of new penalties for impaired drivers

7 months ago

Duration 1:38

Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria outlined plans Wednesday to bring in legislation that would impose tough new penalties on impaired drivers. Plans include installing an ignition interlock device in offenders' vehicles and mandatory remedial education and treatment for first and second time alcohol and drug-related offences, respectively.

Laura Beauparlant was struck by an impaired driver in Guelph, Ont., 29 years ago and said it's concerning that it's still a common practice.

"It boggles the mind," she told CBC Toronto. "We still keep having the same conversations." 

Make the right choice, survivors urge drivers

Beauparlant is hopeful that newer technologies, like self-driving cars, may one day help address the issue. In the meantime she says she wants people to really think about the impact driving impaired can have, not just on others, but on the drivers as well. 

"I think people need to actually hear from the drunk drivers who have hurt or killed people," Beauparlant said. "Not just [about] the jail time or the penalties, but the feeling that they have to carry for the rest of their life or how they've impacted somebody else and the families and the ripple effect that that has."

Stewart is calling on drivers to make the right decision this holiday season and all year long. 

"Everyone knows the risks. So they are making a conscious decision to get behind the wheel and risk their own lives and risk the lives of everyone else on the road," she said.

"It's 100 per cent preventable, and it makes me so angry that people still do it."